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Police identify mother of dead baby
Charges to come at end of investigation

By JAMES WASHBURN
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE

LINCOLN - Martha Nelson, 18, of Middletown will be charged with improper disposal of human remains, Logan County State's Attorney Tim Huyett said in a news release Wednesday.

Huyett said interviews and DNA samples led police to identify Nelson as the mother of a stillborn infant whose body was discovered in a Middletown yard March 19.

While "the investigative reports have not been completed at this time, when I receive the completed reports, charges for improper disposal of human remains will be forthcoming against Martha Nelson," Huyett said in the statement.

The charge is a misdemeanor.

Nelson lives less than two blocks from where a dog discovered the body of the baby boy, who until Wednesday had not publicly been linked to his mother.

Huyett said a report by a forensic pathologist, who determined the infant was stillborn, eliminates any potential charge of murder or manslaughter.

"I know the public may have questions about murder or manslaughter charges in this case," Huyett said. "The report of the forensic pathologist, however, clearly states that the infant was born still and that the still birth was due to natural causes.

"Therefore, murder or manslaughter is not the appropriate charge in this particular case."

The baby was named Isaiah Mark by Logan County Coroner Chuck Fricke.

After the discovery of the body, police interviewed many local residents and collected DNA samples from several Middletown women. As a result of those interviews and comparing DNA from the infant and potential mothers, authorities determined that Nelson is the mother, Huyett said.

"All life is sacred, and treating a deceased infant in this manner is an injustice to the memory of this child," Huyett said.

In an attempt to discourage such behavior, the Illinois Senate on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill to add police stations to the list of "safe havens" where mothers legally can leave babies they do not want.

Current law allows a mother to legally abandon her baby within 72 hours of birth at a staffed hospital, emergency care clinic or fire station.

House Bill 3957, which already has passed the House, adds police stations to the list in hopes of saving even more abandoned babies, said sponsor Rep. Elizabeth Coulson, R-Glenview.

The bill now goes to the governor.

The State Capitol Bureau contributed to this report.

On the news last night they stated that the woman had had the baby in the shower and was unaware whe was pregnent.